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On Golden Pond – An Elegiac and Elegant Portrait On Aging

As one grows old in age, he/she might often hear the saying:
‘Old is Gold’, which refers that age and the experience that comes with it is
really precious. But, old age also brings its share of discrimination,
inadequacy and fear of death. In this modern world, a human being is deemed ‘active’
based upon his memory wellness and his ability to learn new things. However, as
age stacks upon us, our achievements in life wouldn’t seem much in front of our
failures and weakness. The emotional anxiety and mental imbalance kindles the
old people’s resentment, which they hold for themselves. Old age is really a
challenge and movies have mostly stayed away from showing the distressing
issues of old age. Since, cinema itself is often viewed as a tool of
entertainment for young people, it fails to elucidate how hard it is for
elderly people to make peace with the past. Mark Rydell’s“On Golden Pond”
(1981) -- based upon Ernest Thompson’s 1978 play -- is one of the cinematic exceptions
that offer an engaging as well as ethereal portrait of an elderly couple.

“On Golden Pond” contains a streak of sentimental interludes
and may not be as contemplative as Haneke’s “Amour”, but it does offer rare
glimpse about the positive and negative attributes of old age. The movie starts
with the 79 year old Norman Thayer (Henry Fonda) and his wife, Ethel Thayer
(Katharine Hepburn) arriving at their picturesque lakeside cabin in New
England. Financially they are well off and most importantly, they are
thoroughly in love with each other. Norman is a cantankerous person, who often
gives surly replies to divert others' attention from his dementia. He still
studies the classified ads in newspapers and teases his wife about getting a
new job. The failing memory bothers him more than the looming thoughts about
death.

Ethel Thayer is the portrait of sweetness and grace. She
wants to savor their time together and likes to call Norman ‘old poop’. She
also likes to sit in the sun near the lake, and talk to the loons. Norman’s
crankiness melts a little when he comes in contact with Ethel’s elating nature.
However, Norman’s agonistical nature spurts when his daughter, Chelsea (Jane Fonda) shows up at the cabin for his 80th birthday. She has brought her
new dentist boyfriend Bill Ray (Dabney Coleman) and his 13 year old son Bill
Ray Jr. (Doug McKeon). As soon as Norman welcomes Chelsea, we could feel that
they have never gotten along together. Norman is jubilant enough to make fun of
Bill Ray. When Bill asks to sleep in the same room with Chelsea, Norman asks: “Would
you like the room where I first violated her mother”.

Next day, Chelsea informs that she is going to leave Bill
Ray Jr. with them, as she and Bill Sr. is going for a month-long vacation in
Europe. The boy feels that he has been rejected and been remanded with these inactive
people. Initially, Norman cuts through the boy’s veneer and the couple takes
him under their wings, teaching him how to fish. Despite, Norman’s martinet
nature he develops a strong bond with Bill Jr., and Ethel remains calm and
reassuring as always.

“On Golden Pond” surely packs in certain amount of
saccharine qualities, but it doesn’t get drenched in mawkishness. It is subtle
and genuinely moving at key moments, especially in the final ‘near-death’ scene.
The primary characters in this scene have a heart-trending conversation about
mortality (it’s no wonder that Ethel Thayer’s words, “Listen to me, mister.
You're my knight in shining armor. Don't forget it. You're going to get back on
that horse and I'm going to be right behind you, holding on tight and away
we're going to go, go, go!” is named as one of 100 top quotations in American
cinema). The film’s power to move its
viewers to tears wouldn’t have been possible, if not for the rich performances
from Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn.

Fonda, in his final screen role, is both heart-breaking and
mirthful. He perfectly showcases aging people’s tendency to withdraw and their
slightly domineering nature. Also, look out for that poignant moment, when
Henry Fonda gets teary-eyed, when his daughter touches him after a
reconciliation of sorts. That moment was so simple, but the emotions displayed were
very genuine. Contrary to Fonda’s character, Hepburn finely displays that
bright spark of life. Her energetic, ever caring, and optimistic nature shows
us that aging could also be enjoyable if approached from the right perspective.
Ethel’s nature would remind us of our own grandmothers, whose existence saved
those grandfathers from being a recluse. If you had to point out a vital flaw,
I would say that there could have been little depth in the relationship between
Norman and Chelsea. We don’t definitely feel for Jane Fonda’s character, since
her conflict with the father is tritely defined with words ‘inferiority’ and ‘neglect’.

“On Golden Pond” (109 minutes) is a simple, uplifting movie
about an elderly couple. Despite a few melodramatic tones, the masterful performances
stay perfectly in tune with the film’s emotional core.